Aspies from non-Western (and usually collectivist) cultures

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Note: you don't have to be officially diagnosed if it isn't readily available in your country.

How are you managing your cultural and familial obligations vs being yourself?

I come from a middle eastern background, over all the expectations from women my age are to marry and have children at this age. However i am high functioning and come off as a normal if a slightly naive and shy person which is not really a bad thing for a woman in our culture traditionally.
People do have expectations for me to marry and have children however, mostly people who come from a more traditional family than me. So i try not to mention the fact that i don't want to do these things and Just change the subject.

The people's attitude towards autistic or disabled people is slightly better i suspect, No one is outright hostile towards autistic or otherwise disabled people, it is seen as a bad thing to bully someone who is weaker than you in some way. I haven't been bullied much in my school days either. People usually protected me.

However systemically, as in government help/support systems there isn't much anything for anyone. Most people think of nonverbal people when someone mentions autism and even for those people there isn't much support. Basically disabled people are on their own here without much support.

From inside a "collectivist" culture looks more like a "civilized" one. You might want to check your perspective before trying to learn things.

???

"Collectivist" is a perjorative term used by people who consider most forms of cooperation to be akin to slavery. You might as well go to Harlem saying that you want to meet "n****rs."

Why?

[quote="blackomen"
Why?[/quote]
History.

History.[/quote]

And why is that?

Collectivist is hardly Pejorative. Unless you see socialists, any major organized religion or anyone else who values the good of the many vs that of the few. as somehow contemptable. The fact you bring race into it automatically is rather bizarre.

From where I came from, it isn't.
So I'll just assume this is coming from a particularly foreign context for not knowing where it came from because I've never heard of it.



But to the OP question -- sure I'm.
I came from Southeast Asia.

Though, I never met another aspie myself, so I don't know how much this applies.

This particular culture from where I'm born (even if I say the country, this statement applies due to the aspects of regionalism) is more supportive in some, and not so towards another.

Socializing is a bit easier and more inclusive. Getting community supports as well.
​But conforming and it's standards is a headache.


Thankfully I came from a household where it is largely accepted to let me be. That's how it's easier for me.

If I had been from a religious household (whether it's Muslim or Catholic or even Christian)... *cringe* Where a lot of things are strict.
The same can be applied to a more urbanized and westernized household, where the standards are higher and competitive.
The same can be said if I were from a rural household, where a lot of myths and outdated stuff are still believed and living in survivalism.
The same can be said had the household I'm in is predominantly paternalistic or "traditional"...

I say, I'm just lucky that way. Just not in a privileged upper class kind of way.

"Collectivist" is not pejorative. And I live in a society that could be described as such.

Regarding ASD, both my son and I have experienced a generally high level of acceptance and tolerance here.

I actually wondered about this for a while but never got around to making a thread about it. Seems like it’s still both easy and hard in all cultures.

But my over-friendliness (which can sometimes be an autistic trait) isn’t all that valued in the US. In some ways it is. Depends on what state you are from. But I often wished I could live in an Eastern culture where politeness and friendliness is the norm. I am very much this way.

Being a Lebanese Aspie hard because our society is very strictly religious and visiting family and socializing is an etiquette expected of all of us, but for asocial and introverted me I struggle during these family gatherings to feel like I belong and recourse to my room, only to be chided and brought back to the gathering where I feel unable to communicate or talk to anyone.

For a long time growing up my shyness and inability to communicate properly with others was deemed as me being rude and violating family standards and it made life harder tbh.